Forget
by teddylupin-snape
Summary: "Are you stalking me, Crouch?" "No, not stalking." :: BartyReg for Sam


**For Sam.**

i.

You sit at the top of the Astronomy Tower again that night, cigarette held loosely between your fingers, legs over the edge of the battlements. This is one of the few places you can come to relax. It's quiet, and no one ever comes up to bother you or tell you to go to bed.

Well, it's almost always quiet.

You turn, bringing your cigarette back up to your lips and inhaling deeply. Blowing gentle rings of smoke in his direction, you murmur, "Crouch?"

He looks slightly uncomfortable; and doesn't meet your eyes as he responds. "I didn't think anyone would be up here so late…"

"Yeah," you reply, rolling your eyes as you make your way back over to where he stands. "Nor did I, but here we are. I'm surprised, though. Thought you weren't one to break the rules - Daddy would be so disappointed if he found out, wouldn't he?" You smirk and raise an eyebrow at him as he finally makes eye contact.

"Piss off, Black."

"Why don't you? I was here first; I've got more right to be here than you do. Go on. You wouldn't want your father to find out you've been sneaking around at night, would you?"

He looks reluctant to do so, but with a sigh, Barty Crouch Jr leaves the Tower.

ii.

You go out to the Black Lake the next night, mind reeling with thoughts of last night and of the Crouch boy. You didn't peg him to be the type of person to wander around after curfew, especially not with his father being who he is. But then again, you muse, children of strict rule-abiders are hardly ever mirror images of their parents.

You kick off your shoes and pull your socks off, dipping your feet into the cool, still lake water. The area you sit in is concealed slightly by trees, so you aren't that easily seen. Hopefully you'll have quiet tonight.

But, no surprise, Crouch is walking towards you, stumbling slightly over a large rock along the way. You grin, part of you hoping he doesn't see, but the other part of you doesn't really give a damn whether he notices or not.

"Are you stalking me, Crouch?"

"No, not stalking," he mutters, eyes on your feet in the shallow water. "Alright, well, I did see you come down here. But I'm not just out of bed to come and find you, if that's what you're thinking. You shouldn't think so highly of yourself, Black."

"I don't," you assure him, but he cracks a smile and you aren't sure you believe yourself either.

"Good one. And it's Barty, not Crouch. My father's Crouch," he adds in an undertone, and you smirk.

"Got something against your father?"

Barty laughs, leaning back against a tree. "Don't get me started. D'you have something against him?"

"I mean, I don't exactly know him personally, do I?" You're a bit taken aback by how direct he's being, but you continue nonetheless. "He was responsible for shutting up a good portion of my family and their friends in Azkaban, though. I wouldn't be surprised if he hadn't warned you to stay away from me…"

"Oh, he did," Barty assures you, and you smile. "Not the first time I've gone against what he's told me, but at least he doesn't know about this."

"Yeah, and I'm sure my parents wouldn't be ecstatic to see me talking to you, either."

Barty comes over to where you sit, taking a seat on your right and saying, "Well, I guess that gives us a reason to talk, doesn't it?"

iii.

You find yourself at the top of the Astronomy Tower again the next night, and when Barty comes in, you motion for him to sit next to you. As he does, you offer him a cigarette.

"No thanks," he murmurs, and you shrug, taking it for yourself and lighting it.

"Is there a specific reason you're up here again, or have you just grown fond of me?" you ask lightly, looking him in the eyes. From what you could tell in the semidarkness, they were a cold blue-green, but they felt warm.

He shrugs. "No reason, really, no. But it is peaceful up here; I see why you like it." A pause, then, "I suppose I'm ruining that peace for you…"

"No, you're fine. I don't mind, really. I mean, you don't really get in my way, d'you?"

"I guess not…"

"Did you see? Your father was in the paper," you say, pulling out a clipping from the morning's Prophet.

"What about?" Barty asks, taking it from you and scanning the article you show him.

You flick a bit of ash off the end of your cigarette. "Something about a trial, people caught using the Cruciatus Curse, I think. They just mentioned him briefly…"

"Right," he mutters, looking out at the stars. "Can we just… not talk about my father? Unless I have to, I'd rather not, you know."

You nod, pocketing the scrap of the newspaper and following Barty's gaze to the night sky. The stars are easily visible in the clear night, and especially so from atop the Astronomy Tower.

"See that one there," you whisper, pointing up at one of the brighter stars above you. "It's Regulus."

Barty grins, moving his eyes along your finger and to the star in question.

"Having most of my family named after stars really makes Astronomy a bit easier," you say, laughing. Barty laughs with you, and for a moment, you forget that you shouldn't be with him. You forget that it's past curfew and you're out of bounds and that your family and his clash. You forget that you're a Black who's supposed to uphold the family name and marry a 'perfect' Pureblood girl and have an heir. You forget that most people would be sleeping at this time.

"Are you always up here at night?" Barty's question brings you back to the present, and you look at him.

"Not always. I do sleep… occasionally." You smile at him as he laughs. "But sometimes I just need to get away from everything for a while and forget about everything I need to do. It's nice to not worry about everything every once in a while."

Barty nods in agreement and you fall silent, lying back against the stone floor of the tower with Barty at your side, looking up at the stars above you.

iv.

Meeting on the Astronomy Tower becomes a habit for both of you. You don't even really miss the time you had alone. Barty's good company.

"Maybe you could help me out with Astronomy some time," he says one night. "I'm rubbish at it, I mean, how am I supposed to be able to tell the difference between two stars? How do you know which one's which, it's not as though they look that different…"

"I'll help you," you say, grinning. "If you help me with that Transfiguration essay."

"Isn't that due tomorrow?"

You bite your lip as a smile forms. "I don't think I'm going to have it finished by then. Maybe tomorrow night, we could work on it? And I could help you out with that star chart for next week."

"It's a date," he says, grinning.

You raise an eyebrow. "A date?"

"What, would you prefer we call it something else?"

You match his grin. "No. It's a date."

v.

"Hey Barty," you say. It's nearly two weeks after the first time he came up to the Astronomy Tower. Outside of here, during the day, you hardly speak if you don't have to. No sign of what you do on top of the Astronomy Tower – not the friendliness, not continuations of the conversations, not a mention of the homework help – leaves the Tower, and you like it that way. It makes it easier to keep your relationship from both of your parents. If you could be together out in the open, it would obviously be easier for you both, but at least you have these nights to be together.

"Yeah?" he asks. He's lying on his chest, elbows on the ground and head resting on his hands. He turns to face you where you sit, and you can't help but smile when you look at him.

"I—um…" You take a deep breath before continuing. "I love you."

For a moment, he just looks at you, but his eyes don't break contact with yours and you take this as a good sign. You just hope you didn't put your feelings out there (something you hardly do if you can avoid it, and usually you can) for no reason.

But Barty smiles a wide, toothy smile, and you smile back, feeling reassured. "Love you, too."

**x**

**For August of GGE 2014, for MissingMommy. Also for round 8 of Quidditch League (Reserve Chaser 3 for Pride of Portree, using the prompt to include the Cruciatus Curse in a fluffy fic), the Fanfiction Scavenger Hunt Comp (#1: Your otp), and the Represent that Character Challenge). Huge thanks to Liza for the inspiration, Allie and Laura for rat-racing, and Allie for betaing.**


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